Thread: Some of my stuff:

I love them, seem to have had a bit of work done by them as well.

Look forward to seeing some of your work made with them.

The majority of machinery in my workshop is over 50 years old as well

and I would pit it against any of the newer stuff on the market today.

Remember its not the machinery that makes a craftsman look good,

but a good craftsman can make machinery look good.

Enjoy it all

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve.My neighbour used all of these pieces throughout his life as a carpenter.When he passed on i was given them as well as whatever i wanted from his garage.Kid in a candy shop situation! Now it`s getting close to the time i will need to use them as i`m wanting to instal some cabinetry & replace some curved timbers in an old caravan partly seen in one of the pics.The cabinetry won`t be a problem as its just basic frame & doors. The curved timbers - now thery`re something else.But we see how things go as i approach them. Gordo

Bought this as a KBC unit.Once i stripped it down to clean & repaint i found that the drill wasn`t.Highly unlikely the seller knew this either as the info tag on the drill (an Argyle Titan) was covered by an aluminium strap & probably had been for decades.Ironically all pieces funtion well:

Once cleaned & painted

it turned out quite nice:

In the interim a Power Chief kit came along

so all is not lost & the old Titan has been relegated to a hand press for incidental work.

BONUS, Ideal for cutting those curvy bits for the caravan.

Great Job on the restoration, keep it up and i'll be embarrassed into doing some of my old things up

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve. You`re up Jimbo way.Nice spot.Got some greenery out Tara.Never get the time to get there much though.Pity as enough space for a big green shed. gordo

Well they're not green Cream
in fact and yep good place to be.

Workshops.jpg

Cheers

Steve

Gordon those tools have some great character I recall my dads home built TS much like that and his B&D boxed drill etc with much the same attachements I still have the saw blades and drill nothing else tho

Thanks.Instilled from an early childhood to look after things properly & working with a myriad of machinery throughout my life i like them not just to be functional but still look good even after years of useage.Probably won`t come as any surprise but within the garage i stock some ten thousand nuts/bolts/washers etc. One quarter are new.The rest are all second hand,found here there etc & each piece has been electric wire brushed to as good as new looking.Done long before i`ll ever need to use but ready when needed.Little wonder i`m driven to the liquid amber - when in the garage! gordon

OldGrain

Some very nice scores there.

Regards
Paul

"Bought this as a KBC unit . . . found that the drill wasn't. Highly unlikely the seller knew this either as the info tag on the drill (an Argyle Titan) was covered by an aluminium strap & probably had been for decades."
I have a collection of power drills and "conversion tools" - your saw would qualify as such a device. I'm trying to research MANY aspects of both the drills and conversion tools, and only recently found the Argyle Titan brand / model. That led me here. Can you provide any information on it? Where made, and manufacturer's name if other than Argyle; power specs, speed, and so forth. Looks like the late 1920s design, what I can see of it. Good photo of it out from under the strap would be great!
Also very interested in info on the saw (is it a jig saw, or a scroll saw? My definition would be, "If the top is a long spring for the blade's upper end, it's a jigsaw; if the entire thinner frame moves, it's a scrollsaw. USUALLY, those carry much narrower blades, but that's true for jigsaws, too, in my experience.) Any and all background on it wanted.
Who / what is KBC in this instance? There's a machine shop supply house by that name in Michigan, USA, that dominates any search I make. And I don't think that they began selling products with their own name on them until about 30 years ago.

Thanks in advance for answering a newbie [to this forum].

Ken Bowes and Company. 32-42 Woodlands Park, South Australia. Manufacturing: 1936 to 1965 (?)

Proud owner of KBC Kit #A1071: K21 Dual Speed Drill & Saw Bench MkII, Wood Lathe, 4" Bench Planer and Adaptation Accessories as Supplied by McPherson Hardware 546 - 566 Collins St Melbourne, 1959. Paper work included.

Hi EngeneeRon& welcome.This link below will give you some info on KBC (Aust).Power Tools: KBC
As for the Argyle Titan drill it`s circa 1929:

It is 240v & you`ll note there is no trigger but a flick out lever for the ON/Off position built into the handle.It actually works very well although i`ve replaced the power cord.It is quite possible that it originated from the Millers Falls Co (Founded 1861) as the chuck is a Goodell-Pratt who were also owned by them. The jigsaw i say is just that.I`m guessing it could be one or the other.Fellow members will correct me.When drill is connected (as seen in the pic) the rotation flexes the thin frame up/down in unison with blade cutting.Hope this is of help. cheers & thanks gordon

Originally Posted by terraaustralis

"Ken Bowes and Company. 32-42 Woodlands Park, South Australia. Manufacturing: 1936 to 1965 (?)"

Thanks! I entered "KBC +drill" into Google, and read through the first ten screens without getting anything but KBC Machinery (Midland, Michigan, USA, plus many subsidiary locations). If I had known the NAME, or even the country of origin, I might have avoided this - but then, I wouldn't have been searching to begin with! Your kit sounds neat!

Originally Posted by OldGrain

Hi EngeneeRon& welcome.This link below will give you some info on KBC (Aust).Power Tools: KBC
As for the Argyle Titan drill it`s circa 1929: . . . The jigsaw i say is just that. . . . When drill is connected (as seen in the pic) the rotation flexes the thin frame up/down in unison with blade cutting.Hope this is of help. cheers & thanks gordon

Thank you for the welcome! I've posted to the G'Day section to provide a bit more background, BTW. Haven't opened the link yet, but it's likely to be a trove, for me.
The flexing frame, by my definition, does indeed make it a jig saw. Thanks!
The Argyle Titan pic looks like page 162 of the 1929 Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. catalog. I have a Speed Way like the upper right illustration, BTW. Have several Black & Deckers from that era (two with 1924 as the last patent date, and two others with 1926 patents. First two must have been made prior to 1926, or they'd have incorporated later ideas, too), but no Millers Falls that old. Have never seen an Argyle Titan other than in photos & catalog illustrations.